Lisa McPherson was a vibrant woman who valued her health and was looking forward to returning home. Shortly before Thanksgiving 1995, she called an old friend and family members and said she would be coming home for the holidays. For the first time in four years, she talked with her childhood friend Kellie Davis and told her she would be moving back to Dallas by Christmas. She also told her she would be leaving the Church of Scientology, of which she had been a member for half of her life.

Lisa McPherson wrote in her diaries of relationships with men; of exercising and diets; of working hard and paying off debts; of backaches and headaches; of dinners and holidays. From time to time, she also wrote using the unique vernacular of a Scientologist. A personal triumph might be called "a win." She looked forward to being "clear." Someone once had "run control" on her.

The family and friends of a Clearwater woman who died last year in the care of friends from the Church of Scientology are calling for more answers. The woman, Lisa McPherson, was pronounced dead Dec. 5, 1995, at a New Port Richey hospital after several fellow Scientologists drove her there from the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater. McPherson had spent 17 days in the Scientology-owned hotel, resting and recuperating from unexplained anxiety, according to church officials. Dell Liebriech, an aunt of McPherson's, said she believes her niece "was held against her will."

Lisa McPherson was a member of the Church of Scientology for 18 years before she died in December 1995. Any objective review can only raise more questions about what happened to the 36-year-old woman in the 17 days between the traffic accident and her death. A year later, the Clearwater Police Department still is looking for answers and avoiding accusations. Instead of cooperating, the Church of Scientology has responded by attacking the police department and complaining of harassment. It is standard procedure for Scientologists to discourage scrutiny with tactics that smack of intimidation. The Clearwater Police Department and the state attorney's office should not allow such a strategy to derail this investigation.

The Church of Scientology sent a statement to media outlets Monday attacking the police department that is investigating the death of one of its members. The Tampa Tribune reported Sunday that Clearwater police are trying to learn what happened to Lisa McPherson, 36, a member of the church who died a year ago after spending less than three weeks at the church's local headquarters. Scientology officials claim the police "planted a false story in The Tampa Tribune for the express purpose of creating hate and prejudice against the Church of Scientology."

Florida authorities are investigating the death of a Church of Scientology member who said she wanted to leave the church and ended up dead weeks later. Lisa McPherson, a 36-year-old originally from Dallas, spent half of her life as a Scientologist. But last year she called her family in Texas to say she wanted to quit the faith and come back home. "She goes to [the church's headquarters] for rest and relaxation and the next time there's any indication of what's happening to her is that on Dec. 5, 1995, she shows up at a hospital in New Port Richey and she's dead on arrival," said Clearwater Police Det. Sgt. Wayne Andrews.